One person was killed and an alleged gunman was shot and transported to the hospital several hours after police announced an “active shooter” situation Thursday in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, according to the city’s mayor.
“One person has been killed today,” Mayor John Tecklenburg told reporters in a press conference.
Tecklenburg said a “disgruntled employee” entered a restaurant downtown and “killed an individual in the restaurant” and “held another hostage for some time.”
“This was a tragic case of a disgruntled individual, I think with a history of some mental health challenges, who took his anger into his own hands,” the mayor said. “The situation did play out with the hostage being safe, he’s safe. The assailant has been shot and has been taken to a local hospital. He’s in critical condition.”
Interim Charleston police chief Jerome Taylor said the gunman was shot by police.
Local police on announced an “active shooter” situation in downtown Charleston on Thursday afternoon.
King btwn Calhoun & Morris blocked to motorist & pedestrian traffic active shooter in 400 block of King people to avoid the area.
— Charleston P.D. (@CharlestonPD) August 24, 2017
In a statement to the Charleston Post and Courier, police spokesman Charles Francis said there was “an active shooter situation within the 400 block of King Street” and said “police are asking people to leave the area.”
The Post and Courier and local Fox affiliate WTAT reported that the police bomb squad was on the scene.
In a brief press conference, Francis said “one shooting victim” was transported to the hospital when officers arrived on the scene.
“We know we have a couple of hostages in the building with the shooter,” he said. “So we have SWAT on scene, we have hostage negotiation.”
“The shooter is a disgruntled employee,” Tecklenburg told reporters. “This is not an act of terrorism. This is not a hate crime.”
This post has been updated.
